(no subject)

[rusty_halo]

I got woken a half hour early today because of jackhammers. Jackhammers! Right outside my building. I was thinking (as I held the pillow uselessly over my ears) that if I went outside and killed the construction workers, I could probably get off on temporary insanity. On account of being driven insane by jackhammers at eight in the morning.

That was a crappy way to wake up.

London Hellmouth got recommended on BBF. Yay! If you had trouble getting to it yesterday, it should be working fine now, so check it out. Wonderful story.

Also, Carolyn Claire's Thirst completely kicks ass as well. Spike/Xander, post-Gift, very creepy and sexy. She does a really wonderful job of creating a place and an atmosphere and a mood ... you really have to read it to get what I mean.

I have so much wonderful stuff to archive right now; did I mention how glad I am that Spike's on Angel? But I'm spacing it out, because if I archive everything at once, some stories will slip through unnoticed. So ... going slow. (If you're waiting for me to archive something, that's why it might take a little while.) I wonder if I archived too many long stories at once in the last few days ... is it too much to read? (For those who usually read a lot of what I archive.) Just curious if anyone has an opinion. I worry about these things.

Also, deborahmm has some interesting thoughts here on the kink thing, inspired by posts by eliade and thebratqueen. I don't entirely agree with deborahmm's view of Spike (though I do agree with a lot of what she said). Her post is interesting because I've been thinking about a lot of the same things lately, too. eliade and thebratqueen have both been posting very wonderful stories recently that don't turn me on at all, because they both hit what is, basically, my anti-kink. (Has nothing to do with the quality of their writing or anything like that, so no offense intended.) But basically, my anti-kink (something I can't enjoy no matter how well it's written) is a character having little sense of self that they want to let someone else have complete control over them. Like the idea of Spike (or Wesley) as whoever's "pet" just creeps me out completely, regardless of whether the "pet owner" is affectionate or cruel.

What's interesting to me is that there's such a fine line between kink and anti-kink for me. Because I totally think Spike is love's bitch, he needs his lover to to be the powerful one in the relationship (which was very true of Dru and Buffy; without that, he'll have no respect for them, as with Harmony). But Spike's also got a very strong sense of self (a lot of insecurity, but still a strong sense of self). When he wants something, he's not going to roll over and give it up. He'll always struggle, and he'll never let himself be totally dominated. He'll be in the submissive role because he likes it and needs it, but it's never total. (Like, even when he's totally in love with Dru and does her bidding most of the time, when he feels that she's lingering too much over Angel, he'll go behind her back and make a deal with the Slayer.)

So, I guess one way to explain the difference is, say there's a Spike/Angel story where the point is that Spike breaks and totally gives in to Angel. That's squicky. But say there's a story where Angel is still the powerful one, but Spike struggles and never stops snarking and demanding. He never totally gives in or accepts the situation. That's good. Or, something similar: Intervention totally hits a kink in a similar way. It's not romantic, but I just love how, even when he's being horribly tortured, Spike's making fun of Glory's hair and her big ass and completely refusing to give in at all. Whereas if he gave up and broke, it would just be sad and depressing.

Anyway, just some vague ideas. I wouldn't usually talk about kinks or any of that, because I'm horribly repressed. (Yes, I read gay vampire porn regularly and still manage to be horribly repressed. Not quite sure how that works.) But it's an interesting topic and deborahmm has a view similar to mine, so I figured I'd attempt to articulate my thoughts. Though my views may change later as this is probably the first time I've made any attempt to articulate them at all.

Comments

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Total control that is monopolized for no other reason than that the dominant character needs to control others in order to feel better about himself (i.e. for selfish reasons) - that I cannot abide. Which is why TBQ's story is totally anti-kink for me.

TBQ's prose is lovely, the voices ok, but IMHO the charactersation is eh. Her Spike does not have anything in common with the one we've seen on BtVS S7 or on AtS. I haven't actually seen evidence of the soul.

I can see scenarios in which authority gives structure to a life/personality that has been shattered and traumatised, in which one character exercises control not because he or she enjoys it but because it's necessary. But I would always have to feel that the hierarchy is temporary and mutable.

Now *my* kink is equality. Shifts in power have to be negotiated. Power can be transferred and granted, but not usurped. I don't even mind the incest kink that permeates TBQ's fic, because I can see how a replacement father can have a certain erotic appeal to a certain frame of mind. I do mind the way Spike supposedly enjoys pain. I didn't see him enjoy Glory's torture. Spike is a wuss, he doesn't enjoy pain, which makes his resilience in 'Intervention' more noteworthy and admirable. At least that's how I see him.

But then again TBQ was quite open about the fact that she's writing her own kink. *shrug* I don't think kink-centric fic makes good fic just because the prose is well-crafted. But then I liked eliade's 'Subtleties, and those were indulgent too, just closer to something I can relate to. Objectivity is difficult when it comes to kink. :-)
Fortunately, nobody forces us to read or like everything that's out there. I may admire the craft and can be emotionally cold at the same time....

[mogens.livejournal.com]

Now *my* kink is equality. Shifts in power have to be negotiated. Power can be transferred and granted, but not usurped.

This is my kink too. deborahmm's and Laura's posts got me thinking about what kind of fics I like. My favorites, no matter what the pairing, portray the two (or three) in question as equals. While one person can have more power at the time the story takes place, I also want there to be potential for the balance to shift in the future. Stories in which everyone's roles are defined and each character serves a specific, unchanging function (slave, father replacement, fuck buddy, rebound partner, one and only everlasting love) do not have the same appeal for me as ones where the characters go in with certain expectations and come out thinking and feeling something different.